F-35 Joint Strike Fighter News, Videos and pics Thread

[Air Force Brat]

So in other words, for a country like UK/Japan they don't have arresting cables on the carriers they won't be able to launch refueling planes, drones, EW aircrafts unless they can STOVL. If so I think this is a very big disadvantage compared to USN or future PLAN (not the current PLAN)

Spot on here Bub! that's the problem, and that's why the PLANAF is working on a CATOBAR carrier, and that's why the USN only operates CATOBAR carriers, except for the Wasp and her sisters that operate the AV-8B, and will operate the F-35 Bravo!

 

[kurutoga]

Spot on here Bub! that's the problem, and that's why the PLANAF is working on a CATOBAR carrier, and that's why the USN only operates CATOBAR carriers, except for the Wasp and her sisters that operate the AV-8B, and will operate the F-35 Bravo!

Thanks. This has helped me to understand a slew of things, that is,

• USN can afford to delay F35C since they are the only user
• India Navy will still rely on Russia in the foreseeable future since neither F35B nor F35C is STOBAR-capable
• Chinese navy is not in a hurry to make a new 4th gen jet; they can spend time working on the first CATOBAR carrier and perfection of operations with fixed wing AEWC etc etc
• France is in a tough spot as they need to (1) invest in a new 4th gen jets and a new carrier (2) or buy F35C and lose independence, (3) or completely overhaul and become the same as other NATO countries using F35B (4) or keep what they have and endure aging

It looks like US and China are the only two countries serious about investing in Navy airplanes and carriers as a system( and of course US is so much stronger and many years ahead of China). India maybe half serious. Russia and France may be on the decline as time goes on. The rest of the countries can only give up (not that F35B is a bad option, it is the only option and no choices)

 

[Obi Wan Russell]

India's carriers could operate F-35Bs, they have ski jumps, the arrestor wires would be somewhat redundant though. France's CdG could operate F-35Cs if they chose. Might yet happen, as the chances of the French independently developing a 5th gen fighter bomber for carrier ops is realistically zero.

 

[kurutoga]

India's carriers could operate F-35Bs, they have ski jumps, the arrestor wires would be somewhat redundant though

that scenario requires India Navy rewrite their operations as they are forced (due to previous investment) to operate both Mig29k and LCA naval version. A more logical option might be F35C once INS Vishu(?) is ready in two decades.

 

[Air Force Brat]

Thanks. This has helped me to understand a slew of things, that is,

• USN can afford to delay F35C since they are the only user
• India Navy will still rely on Russia in the foreseeable future since neither F35B nor F35C is STOBAR-capable
• Chinese navy is not in a hurry to make a new 4th gen jet; they can spend time working on the first CATOBAR carrier and perfection of operations with fixed wing AEWC etc etc
• France is in a tough spot as they need to (1) invest in a new 4th gen jets and a new carrier (2) or buy F35C and lose independence, (3) or completely overhaul and become the same as other NATO countries using F35B (4) or keep what they have and endure aging

It looks like US and China are the only two countries serious about investing in Navy airplanes and carriers as a system( and of course US is so much stronger and many years ahead of China). India maybe half serious. Russia and France may be on the decline as time goes on. The rest of the countries can only give up (not that F35B is a bad option, it is the only option and no choices)

Heh! Heh! Heh! as Sheriff Andy Taylor used to tell his Deputy Barney Fife! Now hold on a minute, hold on a minute Barn,,,, lets just wait and see!

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

First carrier drones. The reasons cats and arresting wires is the weight of fighters and carrier birds. Consistently every generation of carrier birds have gotten heavier and until the 4th generation faster.
Drones by contrast have come in lighter and slower. To date few drones are actually supersonic or performing high G maneuvering because they have to maintain satilite links unless they are just flying nav waypoint.
Most drones lack a cockpit that means no need for displays, Oxygen generators, ejection seats, flight controls inputs ecta. They also tend to smaller payloads and no gun systems. What that means is that they have in theory less of a need for the full carrier arresting gear and catapults. This means a Flat top should be able to getaway with a smaller arresting gear being retrofitted.

The French are probably not buying a 5th gen fighter ever. They have the Rafael and I doubt a second carrier is coming in this or the next decade.

 

[SamuraiBlue]

First carrier drones. The reasons cats and arresting wires is the weight of fighters and carrier birds. Consistently every generation of carrier birds have gotten heavier and until the 4th generation faster.
Drones by contrast have come in lighter and slower. To date few drones are actually supersonic or performing high G maneuvering because they have to maintain satilite links unless they are just flying nav waypoint.
Most drones lack a cockpit that means no need for displays, Oxygen generators, ejection seats, flight controls inputs ecta. They also tend to smaller payloads and no gun systems. What that means is that they have in theory less of a need for the full carrier arresting gear and catapults. This means a Flat top should be able to getaway with a smaller arresting gear being retrofitted.

The French are probably not buying a 5th gen fighter ever. They have the Rafael and I doubt a second carrier is coming in this or the next decade.

Have many relevant points here although I believe the drone will gain guns and will become more maneuverable to match-up with the 6th generation fighters swarm tactics.
I personally believe that JASDF will develop an aerial drone carriers(modified C-2s?) with up to six drones under the wings to be launched right before reaching the battle zone fight and retrieved by landing on the helicopter carriers that Japan currently possess.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

Have many relevant points here although I believe the drone will gain guns and will become more maneuverable to match-up with the 6th generation fighters swarm tactics.

They might become more maneuverable the issue is autonomy The antenna has to keep in contact with the satellite otherwise the Drone goes stupid, but Vibration becomes an issue when you put in a firing gun system. Personally I doubt fighter Drones would be more than Air to Air Missile Trucks. Even the Current stock of UCAV limited though they are just bombs and missiles. No guns no rockets.

I personally believe that JASDF will develop an aerial drone carriers(modified C-2s?) with up to six drones under the wings to be launched right before reaching the battle zone fight and retrieved by landing on the helicopter carriers that Japan currently possess.

The USAF is looking into a set up just like that right now with C130J. In any case those would be far smaller drones.

 

[SamuraiBlue]

They might become more maneuverable the issue is autonomy The antenna has to keep in contact with the satellite otherwise the Drone goes stupid, but Vibration becomes an issue when you put in a firing gun system. Personally I doubt fighter Drones would be more than Air to Air Missile Trucks. Even the Current stock of UCAV limited though they are just bombs and missiles. No guns no rockets.

Well you don't need satellite connection if the transmitting source is closer, a manned fighter as the quarterback calling the shots and coordinating the drones moves in real time. The calls could be per-programmed much like the quarterback does giving instructions between plays. This way the link would only need a microsecond and it could be through laser link when the drone is in line of sight.

 

[Jura The idiot]

kinda hawkish:
F-35 Is Newest Thorn In North Korea’s Side
Aug 16, 2017

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The U.S.

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prides itself on being the “tip of the spear,” but in East Asia, the “Green Knights” of Marine Fighter Attack Sqdn.-121 (VMFA-121) are more like the tip of the iceberg, as the first of dozens of war-ready

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squadrons being stationed in the region over the next decade.

By the early 2020s, North Korea will be confronted by more than 100 of the U.S.’s latest fifth-generation warplane, including 42 operated by Japan and 40 by South Korea, along with forward-deployments by the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy.

Without assistance from China or Russia, North Korea would stand no chance of defending against a wave of low-observable Joint Strike Fighters, which would be used to clear the air of opposing jets, hunt down rogue missiles, and protect advancing ground troops. The stealth jets would be virtually unopposed by Pyongyang’s outdated inventory of former Soviet and independently developed radars and surface-to-air missiles.

Security analysts with Rand Corporation say the introduction of these modern fighters highlights North Korea’s “significant conventional disadvantage.” This disadvantage is one key reason why the North Korean regime, led by Kim Jong-un, is so adamant about operationalizing nuclear weapons and ramping up the development of missiles as delivery vehicles.

North Korea reportedly possesses up to three nuclear enrichment facilities and potentially as many as 30-60 nuclear warheads. It appears to have three intercontinental ballistic missiles in concurrent development, including the two-stage Hwasong-14 type that was launched twice in July.

The regime views nuclear weapons as the ultimate hedge against invasion by Western forces. Any pre-emptive strike attempted by coalition forces could quickly escalate to nuclear war, with short-range missiles likely striking military bases and major cities in South Korea and Japan.

“They understand that they’ve got a significant conventional disadvantage with their armed forces, particularly in aviation,” says J.D. Williams, a senior defense policy researcher at Rand.

“If you look at the approaches North Korea has taken under the current leader and before, they’re looking at asymmetric ways of offsetting the fact that they’re falling farther and farther behind in their conventional capabilities.”

North Korea has invested heavily in nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and special operations forces at the expense of more complex aircraft and air defense weaponry. The Korean People’s Army Air Force still retains hundreds of early-model Chinese and Soviet fighters, as well as Vietnam-era SA-3s, SA-5s and more modern S-200 surface-to-air missiles. Its most modern SAM, the KN-06, was demonstrated earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea Air Force operates Northrop F-5s,

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, Lockheed

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and KAI FA-50s. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force operates Mitsubishi F-2s, F-15Js and has received its first few conventional-variant F-35As.

Williams says North Korea is well aware of its diminishing conventional power, and is looking for ways to inflict significant or potentially catastrophic damage against coalition forces if they attempt any military intervention. “The F-35 as a new warfighting system just adds to that trend. I don’t think we can call it a direct driver, just a continuation of a trend that’s been there for a while,” he says.

Bruce Bennett, a Rand expert on Northeast Asian military issues, says the growing disparity between the conventional forces of North Korea and its opponents is destabilizing. “North Korea can’t take those [F-35] aircraft on in the air. They can’t take them on with surface-to-air capabilities, so it pushes them to say, ‘We’ve got to take those aircraft on when they’re on the ground,’” he explains. “That drives them to think about the use of missiles and potentially nuclear weapons or other payloads against key airfields to try to neutralize that threat. Both sides have an incentive to go first.”

The Marine Corps confirms that the VMFA-121 remains operationally deployed to Iwakuni and those aircraft visited South Korea for the first time in March as part of Exercise Foal Eagle.

“Permanently basing the F-35B at MCAS Iwakuni and operating in Japan will significantly strengthen the III Marine Expeditionary Force’s ability to support the U.S.’ alliance obligations—by combining fifth-generation stealth, precision weapons, and multispectral sensors with the expeditionary responsiveness of a short-takeoff/vertical-landing fighter-attack platform,” the service says in a statement.

Air Force F-35As are also scheduled to arrive in the Pacific theater in the coming months. The service announced earlier this year that the 34th Fighter Sqdn. of Hill AFB, Utah, will deploy to the Pacific as a theater security packet. The squadron made its first overseas deployment to the UK in April, making several trips to the Baltic region for joint training.

The U.S.

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plans to order 1,763 F-35As for the Air Force and 693 Stovl and carrier-based variants for the Marine Corps and Navy. The F-35A can be armed with guided B61-12 thermonuclear bombs.

Japan committed to the F-35 in December 2011 as a foreign military sale, and 38 of its 42 aircraft will be delivered from the domestic production facility in Nagoya starting this year.

Initial deliveries for South Korea start next year. The lead aircraft (AW-1) has entered the assembly line in Fort Worth. Deliveries will continue through 2021.